So far, I have just given my testimony regarding how I came to know Jesus as my personal Savior. God used a man named John to lead me to Himself. In fact, God has used many people to lead me. Each time, however, it was up to me to see what they were bringing for me to learn. Sometimes, the lessons were obvious. The two youth ministers I had when I was in my teens each showed me how God used people in ministry. These two men were as different as night and day. One was organized. He had all his ducks in a row weeks before they were needed. The other filled his life with frantic energy. Not organized, but he loved people and he got the job done. Both of these men loved people. They just loved them in different ways. Their combined lesson taught me that God can use any willing vessel. For an awkward teen like myself, that was a welcome realization. I may have not believed I had much to give God, but God could use anyone. Anyone meant me!

Sometimes, the lessons I was supposed to learn were less obvious. Each heartache that was caused by the outside influence of another shook me to the core. Once, a trusted friend rebuked me in front of others. Another friend abandoned me when I felt extremely vulnerable. A third person who I thought was a friend judged me as hateful when all I wanted to do was communicate. The lessons from each of these was hard to learn. I had to search for the answers and change my hypothesis as God gave me more information over time. Through all of these lessons I learned an important overall lesson: don’t jump to conclusions. This lesson is especially true when people hurt me deep down.

Do you see God’s hand in your life in the same way? Sometimes His lessons are easy to understand. Sometimes the lessons are hard. Next time I’ll talk about how important interpretation and not jumping to conclusions is!